David Brabham will drive in the MINI Challenge class at Sydney Olympic Park in two weeks.
The reigning Le Mans 24 Hour winner and ALMS Champion will drive the UberStar Cooper S entry, prepared by Stillwell Motorsport.
The last time Brabham drove in Australia was in the 2006 V8 Supercar endurance races at Sandown and Bathurst.
Brabham’s appearance at the Sydney street race marks a number of historic milestones. Sir Jack Brabham won his first Formula 1 world championship 50 years ago in a Cooper, MINI celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, and now, Brabham’s son will drive a Cooper.
MINI Challenge category manager Rafael Toda told Speedcafe that Brabham will be competitive in the one-make class.
“Knowing Brabhams, I think he’ll be at the pointy end. That will be his intention,” he said.
“He’s flying into Australia the day before, so that will be a challenge, but he’s looking forward to it. I’m in communication with him on almost a day-by-day basis and he’s taking this very seriously.
“He’s very excited to race in front of his dad. They haven’t seen each other for quite a while, and I know there’s some family dinners arranged all around his appearance.”
Speedcafe understands that the MINI Challenge organisers are in dialogue with V8 Supercars Australia about running a parade lap of Brabham’s Cooper-Climax at the new street track over the three-day weekend (December 4-6).
MINI Challenge is a support class to the inaugural Sydney Telstra 500 for V8 Supercars.
